{"id":1485,"date":"2014-03-23T21:25:45","date_gmt":"2014-03-24T03:25:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=1485"},"modified":"2020-11-25T10:33:21","modified_gmt":"2020-11-25T16:33:21","slug":"all-about-parentheses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/commas\/all-about-parentheses\/","title":{"rendered":"(All About) Parentheses"},"content":{"rendered":"

The singular form is parenthesis<\/em>, but the plural parentheses<\/em> is the word you\u2019re more likely to see. Both words have a wide range of related meanings, and what some people identify as a parenthesis<\/em>, others call parentheses<\/em>.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s keep it simple. For our purposes, a parenthesis<\/em> is one of a pair of curved marks that look like this: (<\/strong> )<\/strong>, and parentheses<\/em> are both marks.<\/p>\n

A symbol, number, word, phrase, or clause that is in parentheses explains, supplements, or comments on something in the sentence. Material in parentheses can be removed from a sentence without changing that sentence\u2019s overall meaning or grammatical integrity.<\/p>\n

Note the use of is<\/em> in this sentence: My friend (and her brother) is coming today.<\/em> The subject is My friend<\/strong><\/em>. Despite appearances, parentheses are never part of the subject. Remove them and we\u2019d have two subjects, My friend<\/strong> and her brother<\/strong><\/em>, which would require the verb are<\/em><\/strong> coming<\/em>. The use of parentheses is a clue that the writer was more concerned about the friend than about the brother.<\/p>\n

Parentheses, long dashes, and commas are the three punctuation marks that indicate an interruption in the flow of a sentence. (Some might add semicolons, which can turn two simple sentences into a single, more complex sentence: Their eyes met; she smiled<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

Commas, the least intrusive of the three, signal the presence of relevant but nonessential data. Long dashes either expand upon the main point or take a slight detour from it. Parentheses by their very appearance let the reader know that the information fenced off by those vertical curves is a departure from the rest of the sentence. To illustrate:<\/p>\n

\u2022 Blaine, who was born in 1797 and died in 1860, did not live to see the Civil War<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Blaine<\/em>\u2014he was born in 1797 and died in 1860\u2014did not live to see the Civil War<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Blaine<\/em> (1797-1860) did not live to see the Civil War<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Sometimes the choice is clear. For instance, you\u2019d never see this sentence: Blaine\u20141797-1860\u2014did not live to see the Civil War<\/em>. But it is also true that a writer\u2019s use of one of these marks instead of another is often a matter of personal taste.<\/p>\n

Parentheses can be used to form a separate sentence, as here: I hoped my friend was coming. (He canceled at the last minute.)<\/em> But the writer could also have done this: I hoped my friend was coming (he canceled at the last minute).<\/em> Note the placement of the period; if parentheses end a sentence, the period goes after the closing parenthesis.<\/p>\n

Commas virtually always follow parentheses rather than precede them. This sentence is incorrect: When he got home, (it was already dark outside) he fixed dinner.<\/em> Make it When he got home (it was already dark outside), he fixed dinner.<\/em><\/p>\n

Writers have a lot of leeway with parentheses, as long as they heed a few simple guidelines. Used shrewdly (and sparingly!), parentheses add color, nuance, and spice to your writing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pop Quiz<\/strong><\/p>\n

Correct any sentence that needs it.<\/p>\n

1. When Tony showed up, (he was right on time) we had a long talk.<\/p>\n

2. Do not exceed 25 mph (you will be cited.)<\/p>\n

3. After the hike, Mark took a long drink of water (he really needed it!)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pop Quiz Answers<\/strong><\/p>\n

1. When Tony showed up (he was right on time), we had a long talk.<\/p>\n

2. Do not exceed 25 mph (you will be cited).
\nOR <\/strong>Do not exceed 25 mph. (You will be cited.)<\/p>\n

3. After the hike, Mark took a long drink of water (he really needed it!).
\nOR <\/strong>After the hike, Mark took a long drink of water. (He really needed it!)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The singular form is parenthesis, but the plural parentheses is the word you\u2019re more likely to see. Both words have a wide range of related meanings, and what some people identify as a parenthesis, others call parentheses. So let\u2019s keep it simple. For our purposes, a parenthesis is one of a pair of curved marks […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,38,35,29,46,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commas","category-dashes","category-hyphens","category-parentheses","category-periods","category-semicolons"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1485"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1485"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1485\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1485"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1485"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1485"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}